Training

At Wow Take A Bow we encourage owners to train their dogs themselves - the time spent together will allow the pair to learn important and effective communication techniques. Many behavior 'problems' are actually just misunderstandings due to the different meanings of body language between our species. With a little practice any owner can learn how to interpret what their dog is telling them (or telling another person or dog), and relate a message back. As a result of this two-way communication, a lot of stress, aggression, and other inappropriate behaviors can be lessened or even eliminated.

We also understand that life can be hectic at times so rather than allowing a young pup to become too unruly as they hit adolescence, we offer our training services to dogs that come to our facility for either boarding or day care. Unfortunately this doesn't help the owner learn to communicate as quickly as if they were the sole trainer, but it does mean that the puppy will learn some manners and self-control that the owner can later improve upon as time permits. We especially recommend this service for high-energy pups and dogs that live with children - either of these situations can become a disaster if the puppy doesn't learn basic manners.

On this page you will find tips and tricks for comunicating with your dog, as well as resources for further learning. There are also outlines for each of our current training programs and the classes that will eventually be available at our facility, in addition to our philosophy and training methods used during classes and when training dogs in our care.

Training We Provide

The following are training programs that we can implement for your dog while they are boarding or in day care. After you dog has started the program, we will arrange a time to show you what your dog knows and how you should follow through to transfer the training into your home environment.

Basic Manners

This training program teaches dogs to walk calmly on a leash, sit politely for petting, ignore food unless it is given, allow a vet or groomer to take care of them, and to stay and come when they are called. At completion of the program all dogs will be better behaved family members, and those that don't have major fear or potential aggression will be ready for their Canine Good Citizen certificate. The CGC is a 10 item test conducted in a relaxed setting, demonstrating that a dog has had basic training and is not deemed a hazard to the community - the owner must accept the responsibility of cleaning-up after their dog, keeping them healthy, and not allowing their dog to negatively interfere in the lives and property of others.

Rally Novice

This program goes a step further than basic manners, but remains fun and exciting. It includes teaching the dog to stay in heel position (right next to your leg, paying attention to where you are moving) at varying speeds and turns, avoiding obstacles. The dog learns to respond quickly while playing this 'game', and to ignore all sorts of distractions from people and other dogs, to food and toys. After completion of this program dogs will know all of the skills neccesary for the first level of competition (we can teach the rules to owners who are interested).

Novice Obedience

This program is based on the American Kennel Club's 'Companion Dog' title. During competition the handler is only allowed to give a single command for each exercise, no talking or praising until each section is finished. In this program we teach dogs that it's still fun to work even without being told how amazing they are... and they always are praised at the end. This course is intended for increasing a dog's work ethic for times when they can't be encouraged through-out. After completion dogs will be know what is required to acheive the CD title, and we can teach the rules to owners who are interested.

Basic Agility Safety

This course is not available yet. It teaches dogs how to safely navigate the obstacles on an agility course without fear. Dogs learn to go over jumps without hitting them, not jump off the dog-walk, touch the contacts on all obstacles, and pause to let the teeter hit the ground. We will eventually have classes for owners who would like to 'play this game' with their dogs.

Fun Tricks

In this program we will create a list of tricks that the owner would like their dog to know. These are fun, cute, and smart behaviors that we put on command - dogs love to show off!

How to Read

Just like dogs can learn to understand verbal commands and hand signals, they can also recognize different written symbols. In this program we will teach dogs to read the written words for commands that they already know verbally. The owner will write up a list (we reccomend starting with a low number), and we will create cards and teach the new 'commands'. Dogs can also look at a figure and put themselves into the same position, so we can also use stick figures for those same written words.

Dogs are some of the most amazing creatures and deserve far more credit than they are usually given... they don't even need to be taught what each stick figure means - once they understand that the card has a message, most dogs can decipher the meaning regardless of whether they've ever done it before!

Helpful Tasks

This program is more advanced, teaching dogs to turn on and off lights, open doors, retrieve items and more. What we teach to pet dogs is meant to expand their mind and give them some jobs around the house.

When a dog has been trained to assist someone with a disability these tasks are *not* tricks. The work is very serious and a dog cannot decide they don't feel like working one day. This does not mean that assistance dogs don't enjoy their job (in fact, they have the best of all worlds and when trained and handled properly it is hard to find a happier dog) - just understand that there is a difference.

Topics that will be covered here: Body Language, Personality, Motivation, Praise, Correction, Commands/Cues, Dog's Perspective

We frequently revise our training offerings so check back soon for information on the training we provide as well as some tips for working on your own. In the mean time, remember to keep it fun - dogs want to learn!

Teach me!

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